Improvement in wind-wheels



JAMES A. ALLEN, OF ALBION, ASSIGNOR T0 HIMSELF AND HENRY oseo1m,

OF SHERIDAN, MICHIGAN.

IMPROVENIENT IN WlND-WHEELS.

Specifioation forming part of Letters Patent N0. 188,563, dated March20, 1877; application filed August 31, 1876.

T0 all whom z't mag; conoem Be-it known that I, JAMES A. ALLEN, ofAlbion, in the county of Oalhoun end State of Michigan, have invented anImprovement in Windmills, of Whioh the following is a spedifieation Myinvention relates t0 an improvement in windmills whioh are provided witha governing device for turning the sails more or less out of the wind astl1elatter inreases in force, thereby regulating and limiting the speedof the windwheel, end insuring its safety in high winde; and theinvention is more partioularly designed as an improvement 011 thewindmill for whioh Letters Patent N o. 167 7 24 were issued to meSeptember 14, 1875.

The objeet I have in view in the present improvement is to regulate theangles of the sails witl1 relation to the plane of the wind bycentrifugal foroe developed in the rotation of the wind-wheel, in a moresimple and eft'eotive manner, by weighting the nose or inner end of eachsail, and tl1us dispense with the complioated system of Gentrifugal armsand levers heretofore employed.

Figure 1 is a perspeotive view. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal verticalseotion. Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal section of one of the sails.

In the drawing, A represents a tower, surmounted by an annularcap-plate, a, in which is inserted the sleeve B of a turn-table, B. O isthe vane, projeoting from the tail end of the turn-table, and issustained by truss-rods c, spreading eaoh way from a trusspost, c. D isthe wheel-shaft, with a faee-plate and wrist at its inner end f0rreoiprocating the oonneoting-rod E. F is a hub, sleeved on the outer endo f the shaft. A groove is turned in its inner end, and its outer end ismortised, as ar e. G is a oollar, keyed on the shaft next to the outerbearing of the turn-table.

Two rode, g g, projeot forward into the sookets in the back of the hab,whioh slides onto thein, so that as the hub is turned the shat't turnswith it. H is the head or spider for the wheel, radially flanged toreceive the wheel-arms I, and oast with as many radial lugs h on theback as there are mortises in the hab, each lag being slotted to receivea lever, K, pivoted therein, its inner and short arm being stepped inthe hub. L are sail-shafts, axially pivoted between the outer ends ofthe sail-arms. M are the sails, the slats of whioh are radially seeuredin slots obliquely sa wed into the edge of eaoh Shaft L, their innerends beiug a little longer, bat present less area, than their outerarms, and are also let into a girt, N. A braee, N, is nailed to the girtand to the shaft, and to it is pivoted vone end of a link, K, the otherend of whioh is pivoted to the outer end of the lever K.- A yoke, O,embraoes theneok 0f the hab in its groove. From the yoke two rods, k,extend back through the outer bearing of the turn-table, and areconneeted to the ends of a forked lever, P, pivoted to a standard, Q, onthe turn-table. A link, R, is pivoted at its upper end 110 this lever,and passes down through the eye of the turn-table to a oollar, S,sleeved on the oonneoting-rod.

The foregoing description of the prinoipal parts of the windmill, shownand des0ribed in my said Letters Patent, is only introduced to sl1ow theapplication of my recent improvement thereto.

'lhe collar S is embraced by a forked r0d, T, the lower end of whieh. iseonneoted With a lever, U, in the base of the tower, by means ot whiohthe oollar, the link,and the forked lever P may be raised or lowered,and through the latter the sails oa-n be turned in to 01 out of thewind.

T0 stop the wheel, the sails are turned edgewise to the Wind. T0 set itin motion, the sails are turned to a right angle With the plane of thedireotion of the Wind. I

In lieu of the oentrifugal governors and levers described in my saidLetters Patent for governing or regulating the angle of the sails, I nowseoure a simple weigl1t, d, to the girt of each sail, near the nose orinner end thereof. These weights are so proportioned that Wl1en thespeed 0f the wheel exoeeds a given velooity, the centrifugal foroethereby developed tends to throw outward tl1ese weighted ends of thesails, turning them upon their axes partially out of the plane of itsdireotion, and thereby reduoing its effective force upon the wheel. Asthe Wind increases in force, the

2 1'ss,sas

sails will turn farther out of it, and thus keep down its velocity. Asthe Wind dies away the sails turn back into it.

What I claim as my inventiou is-- In a windmill, substantially asdescribed, the combination, wit;h the sails M, of the pivoted shafts L,a girt, N, a.t the inner e11ds of each set of sails, the braces N, thelinks K,

for turning the sails, aud the weights d, secured to be said. girtsnea-r the immer ends of the said sails, all eonstructed aud arrangedsubstantially as described and showu.

JAMES A. ALLEN. Witnesses:

H. F. EBERTS, H. S. SPBAGUE.

